A patent owner enjoys a right to a limited monopoly regarding the intellectual property rights granted by a patent. It is important to note, however, that once a patent is granted, the patent owner is responsible for taking the affirmative steps needed to enforce his, her, or its, patent rights.
Patent enforcement activities can include identifying an alleged infringing product or service, performing an infringement analysis, which can typically include determining the meaning or definition of a patent claim and/or defining a product(s) and/or service(s) to which a patent claim is directed, identifying a product(s) and/or service(s) which meets, or which would appear to meet the elements and/or limitations of the patent claim, either literally and/or under the Doctrine of Equivalents, and, thereafter, determining whether an infringement of the patent claim exists.
The above-described process can involve a great deal of effort on the part of the patent owner and a great of legal expertise, which can be very costly.
In a first instance, a patent owner must identify and/or locate a product(s) and/or a service(s) which may fall within the scope of a patent claim. In a global economy which provides new products and services on an on-going basis, the patent owner faces an ever changing product and/or service environment. In such an environment, the patent owner may not always be able to, or be capable of, effectively policing and/or monitoring available products and/or services which may be infringing his, her, or its, patent.
In a second instance, once a potentially infringing product and/or service is identified, information regarding same may not always be readily available for allowing one to perform a complete and adequate infringement analysis to determine if the product and/or service does, in fact, infringe a patent claim.
In view of the foregoing, it is easy to understand that the efforts expended in policing products and/or services for patent infringement and/or in performing patent infringement studies and/or evaluations can involve a great deal of time, effort and expense, which may prevent a patent owner from effectively and efficiently enforcing his, her, or its, patent rights. This, in turn, can prevent a patent owner from realizing optimal returns from a patent. There appears to be no apparatus, system, and/or method, which can be utilized in order to effectively and efficiently assist a patent owner in policing for, and identifying, instances of patent infringement.